One Up Becomes an Official On-Demand eSports Platform of NBA 2K
Collaboration to tip-off this fall with free-to-enter NBA 2K24 tournaments hosted by NBA stars
One Up, a leading on-demand eSports company democratizing how video game tournaments are accessed and organized, today announced a multi-year deal with Take-Two Interactive’s 2K label to become an official on-demand eSports platform for the NBA 2K franchise.
The deal will tip off this fall right after the highly anticipated launch of NBA 2K24 on September 8. To celebrate the launch, One Up will power a series of free-to-enter online tournaments hosted by NBA stars, made accessible to millions of NBA fans and competitive NBA2K gamers. More details will be announced in early fall. One Up will leverage NBA 2K’s in-game promotions and social media to drive awareness and engagement.
The NBA 2K/One Up deal realizes the huge opportunity to give amateur gamers an open pathway to take part in competitive gaming tournaments.
“With this landmark NBA 2K deal, we want to lower the barrier of entry to eSports tournaments,” the Chief Executive Officer for One Up, Brandon Pitts, said. “Our collaboration with 2K has laid the blueprint for helping publishers build game loyalty and community through tournaments that are truly open to all. At the end of the day, gamers want to compete to showcase their skills and now they can do that and earn like the pros.”
“NBA 2K fans are some of the most intensely competitive and engaged in all of gaming,” the Head of Lifestyle and Content Marketing for 2K, Ronnie Singh, said. “One Up will push the online competitive scene to a whole new level and give our fans even more opportunities to compete and win great prizes.”
One Up originated in college for Pitts, turning his dorm into a place for people to compete in video game tournaments. He launched the tech platform to deliver on the huge, underserved demand for eSports accessibility and now boasts more than 750,000 registered gamers that have the desire to compete and monetize their skills in one-on-one match-ups or tournament gameplay. One Up has facilitated more than $20 million in payouts to its users across popular games.
